U.S. patent number 6,530,505 [Application Number 09/966,760] was granted by the patent office on 2003-03-11 for dispensing container with rotatable lid.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert Cregg Barnes, Scott Lee Fisher, David John Jochem, James S. Mandle, Donald Allan Scott.
United States Patent |
6,530,505 |
Barnes , et al. |
March 11, 2003 |
Dispensing container with rotatable lid
Abstract
A dispensing container is formed having a housing with an
opening at the top and defining an internal cavity. A wheel is
rotatably attached to the housing and includes an arm which extends
from the wheel and is dimensioned to cover the opening. The wheel
with the extending arm is adapted to pivot away from the opening
when the wheel is rotated, thereby allowing one to dispense the
contents present in the container.
Inventors: |
Barnes; Robert Cregg
(Hackettstown, NJ), Fisher; Scott Lee (Evansville, IN),
Scott; Donald Allan (Wadesville, IN), Jochem; David John
(Evansville, IN), Mandle; James S. (Woodcliff Lake, NJ) |
Assignee: |
Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.
(Northfield, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
25511824 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/966,760 |
Filed: |
October 1, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/516 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
47/20 (20130101); B65D 83/0481 (20130101); B65D
85/60 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
47/20 (20060101); B65D 83/04 (20060101); B65D
47/04 (20060101); B65D 85/60 (20060101); B67D
003/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;222/156,516,517,556 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kaufman; Joseph A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Larson & Taylor, PLC
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A dispenser container comprising: a housing having a pair of
opposed sides and a pair of short opposed ends shorter than the
opposed sides, said opposed sides and opposed ends forming a
rectangular open top above an internal cavity capable of storing a
supply of discrete solid pieces of a food product, said open top
extending essentially the full length of the opposed sides, an arm
extending parallel to the opposed sides completely across and
closing off the entire rectangular open top, a wheel rotatably
mounted on the container at the top of one of said ends with an
axis of rotation perpendicular to the opposed sides, the arm being
connected to the wheel at one end thereof, wherein turning of the
wheel pivotally turns the arm about said axis of rotation to raise
the end of the arm opposite from the wheel sufficiently to open
that end of the rectangular open top to allow gravity dispensing of
the food product therein upon inverting of the container.
2. The dispenser container of claim 1, wherein said wheel is biased
to urge said arm to a position to cover said open top.
3. The dispenser container of claim 2, wherein said wheel is biased
via a tab axially extending from said wheel cooperatively engaging
with a tooth portion of said housing.
4. The dispenser container of claim 3, wherein said tab is composed
of a resilient material adapted to pivotally twist about said tooth
portion when said wheel is rotated, thereby establishing a biasing
force.
5. The dispenser container of claim 1, wherein said wheel comprises
a plurality of radially extending ridges.
6. The dispenser container of claim 5, wherein said ridges provide
a gripable surface upon which a rotation force can be applied.
7. The dispenser container of claim 6, wherein one of said ridges
extends radially further than the remainder of plurality of
radially extending ridges, said one ridge providing an actuateable
surface upon which a rotation force can be applied.
8. The dispenser container of claim 1, wherein said wheel comprises
a radially extending ridge providing an actuateable surface upon
which a rotation force can be applied.
9. The dispenser container of claim 1, further comprising a
deflection plate extending from an inner surface of said housing
adjacent said open top, said deflector plate angled towards said
open top and adapted to direct contents within said container
toward said open top during dispensing.
10. A dispensing container comprising: a housing defining an
internal cavity and including an aperture; a wheel rotatably
attached to said housing for rotation about a fixed axis and having
a radially extending arm, said arm dimensioned to cover said
aperture and to pivot away from said aperture when said wheel is
rotated about said axis, thereby uncovering said aperture, wherein
said wheel is biased via a tab axially extending from said wheel
cooperatively engaging with a tooth portion of said housing to urge
said arm to a position to cover said aperture.
11. The dispenser container of claim 10, wherein said tab is
composed of a resilient material adapted to pivotally twist about
said tooth portion when said wheel is rotated, thereby establishing
a biasing force.
12. A dispensing container comprising: a housing defining an
internal cavity and including an aperture; a wheel rotatably
attached to said housing for rotation about a fixed axis and having
a radially extending arm, said arm dimensioned to cover said
aperture and to pivot away from said aperture when said wheel is
rotated about said axis, thereby uncovering said aperture, and
including a deflection plate extending from an inner surface of
said housing adjacent said aperture, said deflector plate angled
towards said aperture and adapted to direct contents within said
container toward said aperture during dispensing.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a container, and in particular, to
a dispensing container with a rotatable lid for dispensing food
products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Containers for packaging and dispensing food products such as candy
come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. These containers may be
handheld and adapted to fit in a purse or in a pocket of a shirt or
pair of pants. Further, these containers help to prevent damage to
the food product contained within and to maintain its freshness.
There exists a need for new and improved containers for dispensing
food products such as candy.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with a general object of the present invention, a
dispensing container is provided for storing and dispensing food
products such as candy wherein the dispensing container has an easy
opening lid for dispensing a food product.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a
dispensing container dimensioned to fit comfortably in the palm of
a hand.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a dispensing
container includes a housing defining an internal cavity and
including an aperture. A wheel is rotatably attached to the housing
and has an extending arm which is dimensioned to cover the aperture
and to pivot away from the aperture when the wheel is rotated,
thereby uncovering the aperture. In one advantageous further
embodiment, the wheel is biased to cause the arm to cover the
aperture.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a
dispensing container includes a housing having two pairs-of
opposing sides, a bottom, and an opening opposite the bottom. The
housing defines an internal cavity. A wheel is rotatably attached
to the housing adjacent the opening and the wheel extends through
one of the sides. The wheel has an extending arm and the wheel and
arm are dimensioned to cover the opening. The arm is adapted to
pivot away from the opening when the wheel is rotated for
dispensing contents of the container. In one advantageous further
embodiment, the wheel is biased to maintain the arm in a position
to cover the opening.
A feature of the present invention relates to the dispensing of
food product from the container by rotating the wheel and using a
slight pouring action to dispense food product from the
container.
An additional feature of the present invention, in one form
thereof, concerns the incorporation of a biased wheel to support
the arm so that it covers the opening of the container, thereby
preventing food product from inadvertently being dispensed and
helping to maintain the freshness of the food product within the
container.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will be
set forth in, or apparent from, the detailed description of
preferred embodiments thereof which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in detail with respect to
preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing container according to
the present invention in a closed condition;
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the container of FIG. 1 in
an opened condition;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partially in section taken along
line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partially in section taken along
line 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the main body of the dispensing
container according to the present invention, shown in a
disassembled condition; and
FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the lid according to the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings, like numbers represent like elements
throughout the several views. Reference numeral 10 generally
identifies a dispensing container shown in a closed condition in
FIGS. 1 and 3 and in an opened condition in FIGS. 2 and 4. The
container 10 includes a housing having a first pair of opposing
sides 12, 14 and a second pair of opposing sides 16, 18. The
housing also includes a bottom 20 and an upper opening 22 opposite
the bottom 20. Extending between sides 16 and 18 are mating
connectors including three mating connectors 24 and 26, one set of
connectors 24a and 26a and one set 24b and 26b. Support post 30
provides rigidity to sides 16 and 18. As shown, all sides of
container 10 are made of transparent or translucent material. Of
course such sides can also be made of opaque material.
Lid 50, which is dimensioned to cover opening 22, comprising a
wheel portion 52 and an extending arm 54. Wheel 52 includes bore 56
and a plurality of ridges 62 which extend upwardly from the surface
of wheel 52. One ridge 64 extends further from the surface of wheel
52 than the remaining plurality of ridges 62. The bore 56 is
mounted on an axle 36 which is fixed to wall 18, as shown in FIG.
5A.
Lid 50 is retracted away from opening 22 by applying a rotational
force to wheel 52 in the direction denoted by arrow 80. This
rotational force rotates wheel 52 and in particular, bore 56 about
fixed axle 36, allowing arm 54 to pivot away from opening 22 (FIG.
2). Advantageously, the plurality of ridges 62 provide a gripable
surface and ridge 64 provides an additional surface to which one
can apply the rotational force. Connectors 24a, 26a pass through
aperture 57 in the arm 54 to provide guide and a stop to limit the
angle through which wheel 52 can rotate.
Lid 50 is biased to be maintained in a closed condition covering
opening 22. The biasing of lid 50 is due to a cooperative
engagement between teeth 38, 40, which are fixed to and extending
from the surface of side 18, and tabs 58, 60, extending axially
from wheel 52 (FIGS. 3-5). In this engagement, a portion of tab
surfaces 59, 61 of tabs 58, 60 abut a portion of angled surfaces
42, 44 of teeth 38, 40 respectively. When a rotational force causes
wheel 52 to rotate in direction of arrow 80 (FIG. 1), tab surfaces
59, 61 of tabs 58, 60 pivotally twist along angled surfaces 42, 44,
of teeth 38, 40, respectively, resulting in the deformation of tabs
58, 60 shown in FIG. 4.
Advantageously, tabs 58, 60 are constructed of a resilient material
such as polypropylene, which provides a resilient, biasing force to
return tabs 58, 60 to their rest position once the rotational force
is withdrawn from wheel 52. As a result, the biasing force closes
lid 50 so that it covers opening 22 after the rotational force is
withdrawn.
Preferably, lid 50 can be rotated by holding container 10 in the
palm of one hand while applying a rotational force to ridges 62 and
ridge 64 using the thumb of that hand. Food product such as candy
is then dispensed into the other hand by slightly inverting or
pouring the food product present in the container 10 into the other
hand.
Spanning the space between side 16 and side 18 is a deflector plate
90 formed from deflector plate portions 92, 94 extending from sides
16, 18 respectively. Deflector plate 90 is angled towards opening
22 and, preferably, extends at least as far from the interior wall
surface 96 of side 12 as that of connector 24b (best shown in FIGS.
3 and 4).
Deflector plate 90 acts to deflect food product away from connector
24b and towards opening 22 when the food product is dispensed. For
example, during dispensing, after arm 54 is retracted from opening
22 and container 10 is tilted to permit dispensing of the food
product of container 10, the food product will be deflected away
from connector 24b by deflector plate 90, and directed toward
opening 22.
Referring now specifically to FIGS. 5A and 5B, container 10 is
assembled by first inserting bore 56 of lid 50 onto axle 36 so that
tab surfaces 59, 61 of tabs 58, 60 abut angled surfaces 42, 44 of
teeth 38, 40. Then, side 16 is folded along hinge 28 to align and
mate connectors 24, 24a and 24b with complementary plurality of
connectors 26, 26a and 26b.
It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that
container 10 provides numerous features and advantages. For
example, the plurality of ridges and in particular the further
extending ridge 64 enables one to readily rotate the wheel 52 which
then pivots arm 54 away from opening 22 for easy dispensing of food
product from container 10. Further, a preferable size of container
10 provides for a dispensing container which can fit in the palm of
a hand for easy dispensing of food product and which can readily be
stowed in a purse or in a shirt, pants, or backpack pocket.
Although the invention has been described in detail with respect to
the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one of
ordinary skilled in the art that the invention is capable of
numerous modifications and variations within the scope and spirit
of the invention.
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